Tag: nervous system

Coping, Symptoms

Thanks (Interrupted by Migraine)

Kerrie Smyres

Thank you all for your kind comments and support. My neglect of the blog has nagged at me, mostly because I felt like I let people down. Even more, I didn’t want to think about migraine or headache. It felt like every moment of my life was devoted to the migraines and I couldn’t dig as deep as I once did.

Oh, gotta go now. My mind is so fried by this current migraine that I can’t build sentences anymore. Not to mention that I’ve become so clumsy my fingers don’t hit the right keys. I’ve been mentally working on a series of posts about what a migraine is really like — and that the headache is really only one component of many oddities that a migraine episode includes. One of the many symptoms of a nervous system temporarily on the fritz. (I hope to add some links to relevant previous posts when I get my body back. Feel free to comment with your experiences.)

P.S. Hart and I have bought a darling yellow house in Central Phoenix! We close on January 13 and move in when our belongings arrive from Cambridge at the end of the month.

Symptoms

Allodynia Distractions

Kerrie Smyres

While I was writhing in pain last week, sure that someone had covered my pillow with thumbtacks, I distracted myself by thinking about allodynia. I’d like to say that I considered the physiology of it, but I really just repeated the word mentally, thinking about how neat it sounds. Allodynia, allodynia, allodynia. It rolls right off the tongue.

About three-quarters of people with migraine have allodynia, which is the increased skin sensitivity that can feel like your hair hurts or that your jewelry is pressing into your skin. Basically, your nerves and brain become overly sensitive during a migraine. An hour or two before allodynia begins, other senses, like sight, hearing and smell, are also more keen because nerves are in a heightened state. Research indicates that migraine abortives are most effective if taken before skin sensitivity begins. If you’re interested in learning more about this phenomenon, see the ACHE article on central sensitization.

See, even silly distractions can be useful. Allodynia, allodynia, allodynia. . .